


Finding Jason

by Speisla



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Comics), DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Bruce Wayne knows he fucked up and tries to get his family back, Bruce Wayne needs help, Dick Grayson tries his best, Gen, Idea: Carrie Kelley is Jason's kid, Jason Todd wants to be happy, Kara Zor-El wants to help, Kate Kane is a Good Cousin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-26
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-08-29 15:10:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16746352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Speisla/pseuds/Speisla
Summary: Twelve years ago, Batman beat Red Hood in front of all the world, almost killing his own son. As a result the family broke down irremediably and Bruce Wayne was left alone with his darkness. No one has seen or heard of Jason in twelve years. Not even the world's best detective has been able to find him.But one day, Bruce discovers a new clue that could reveal the location of his second son. The clue is eleven years old, has red hair, and Jason's eyes. Her name is Carrie Kelley and according to the innumerable blood tests, she is her granddaughter...................................................Jason Todd has reached the limit, and has vowed to break ties with the family that does not want him and never, ever, talk to the Bat again. Instead, along with his friends, Jason decides to find his own way and build his own family the farthest from Gotham. But an evil presence lurks in the shadows, and Jason will have to run a race against time to not lose what little he has left.





	1. Meeting Carrie

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired in this other fic https://archiveofourown.org/works/16624466
> 
> Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd, Kate Kane, Kara Zor-El, Carrie Kelley (Frank Miller's The Dark Knight saga) and the rest of the characters belongs to DC Comics

 

 

Bruce opened his eyes in the middle of the clarity, when Selina gently shook his shoulder. His self-control allowed him to avoid letting go of the moan that was trapped in his throat. Beside him, his wife looked at him with an expression that, far from annoying, showed her amusement. "You're falling asleep, hold on a bit longer or Dick and Tim will take a photo."

"They would not dare..." Bruce caught out of the corner of his eye that Dick and Tim were pointing a phone at him, doing everything possible to go unnoticed. "Forget it."

His wife laughed. "Just two hours more, you're lucky Jason has to go back to college early."

"I'm not tired."

"Even you have your limits, Bat."

"You perfectly know what my limits are, Cat."

On the other side of the table, Tim grimaced in disgust. Bruce smiled satisfied.

When Alfred came back from the kitchen with the cake in his hands and put it in front of Jason, Bruce could not help the genuine smile that spread across his lips. His second son also smiled that way, a little nervous. No matter how many years ago he adopted him, Jay was always touched by the slightest sign of affection. Everyone smiled at Jason and wished him a happy birthday. Before cutting the cake, Bruce stood up, drawing the attention of his entire family.

"Jason, I want to be the first to tell you how proud I am of you, of this strong, generous, and brave man you've become. It's a privilege for me to call you my son. Happy birthday, Jaylad."

"Thanks, old man."

Bruce felt a hot liquid fall from his eyes suddenly. Confused, the man raised a hand to touch his cheek, only to freeze in terror when he saw that his fingers were stained red. Bruce looked at Selina, but her expression was strange, as if she were not really there and her body was a wax doll with her appearance. Dick and Tim had their faces completely soaked in the red liquid, dripping down their chins and falling to the table. Damian. Cassandra. Stephanie. Barbara. Alfred's eyes began to grow larger, larger, until his skull could no longer contain its size and the orbits fell on the soup, leaving only empty sockets.

Jason was wearing a broken helmet, and all his clothes were soaked with red liquid. Bruce looked at him without reacting, without moving.

"This wasn't what happened, you son of a bitch. You killed us all," said Jason without hatred in his voice, only disgust. "You killed me."

* * *

 

 

**Batman**

**2030**

**Seven years after the disappearance**

Bruce woke up without a fright, without exclamations, or sudden movements, without greater signs of emotion. He had experience awakening from nightmares and this was not the first nor the last time. Removing the covers from the sheets, the man got out of bed and walked naked to the bathroom to brush his teeth and take a shower. He shaved and dressed up. Silently, Bruce went down to the kitchen and took time to prepare breakfast: toast, fruit, eggs, coffee and his morning pills. Eating without interest, Batman left the dirty dishes in the sink and went down the stairs to the only place he wanted to be, his cave.

The moment he set foot on the rocky surface, his body was filled with the vital energy that his cave always provided, no matter how many years passed.

"Computer," said Batman. "File 3029."

**_*Case Teague, open.*_ **

Twenty minutes later, Batman took one of his communicators and dialed Gordon's number. He picked up before three seconds. _"You finally call me."_

"Case Teague, rape, the rapist is hiding in the house of his mother Genevieve Teague. You will find evidence in his room, in a green backpack."

_"Ba-"_

Bruce hung up before Gordon could finish the sentence, opening his next case of the morning. Ten minutes later, Bruce called Gordon again. The man responded immediately.

_"Batman, listen-"_

"Case Jensen, the man didn't disappear. He joined an anti-alien cult, you'll find him in National City in front of the CatCo building."

_"Don't hang-"_

Bruce hung up and continued with his next case. This seemed more interesting, a settling of scores between the Salamancas and Parkers. He compared it to the information he already had about a similar case. Seven minutes later, he called Gordon.

"Kevin Garvey, it matches with a murder committed by Scott Lobdell two months ago. I recommend special care, that man is weak but dangerous."

_"If you hang me up again, don't bother to call again."_

Batman growled. "What?"

_"You won't be able to keep calling me, I'm going to retire next week. I won't be able to continue helping you."_

"You still have a week left."

_"After that you'll have to deal with the new commissioner. Yindel is not you biggest fan."_

"Nobody is, that's all?"

"This time is different."

Bruce waited patiently for him to say it.

_"Maybe the time has come for you to retire too."_

Bruce contained his bad mood. "I have not finished yet."

_"If you say it for the Joker, you should let it go. He disappeared five years ago."_

"You're too smart to believe that that's a guarantee of something, I'm not finished yet," he said in a tone that did not allow discussion.

Gordon paused a little. _"I'm worried for you."_

"I'll manage, Jim. You know I always do it."

Bruce hung up unceremoniously, going back to his morning cases and making a mental list of the places he had to go at night, once he went out on patrol. There was reliable information that the Salamanca would receive a huge shipment of cocaine in the port. There were still hours left until midnight, but...

His black communicator began to vibrate.

Bruce looked at it with surprise. The thing rarely recieved a call for three years, since that awkward time when Jon Kent had called him by mistake. The few members of the League who still spoke to him used the other communicator. Kate only called on the phone. Extending his hand, Batman took it and pressed the buttom, his hand dirty with dust. "Speak."

_"I'm Batwoman."_

Bruce's mouth twisted slightly at the name. No, it was not Batwoman, it was his cousin Kate. Batwoman had not appeared since the government had offered Kate to return to the army to fulfill her dream of being a soldier.

"What?" asked Batman, after a pause.

_"We need to talk."_

"About what?" asked again, irritated that his cousin did not give him the information faster.

 _"In person, I'm going there,"_ replied Kate. Before Bruce could growl she added. _"It's about Red Hood."_

Bruce's words died in his throat. "Did you found him?" he asked in his normal voice. "Did you found him?"

 _"I have a new clue that we have to discuss in person, strictly in person, I'll be there in 3."_ Kate hung up the communication.

Bruce watched it with a blank expression for a few seconds before reacting, his legs propelling him out of the chair.

* * *

 

**Bruce**

Kate did not appear through the underground gate to the Batcave as Bruce expected. Instead, his cousin knocked on the door of the mansion as if it were just another visit. Bruce opened the door before the second blow.

"What is the clue?" asked Bruce, his voice slightly more anxious than usual.

Kate started slightly. Bruce noticed that she did not seem to have slept all night. "Let me in, it's a long story."

"Kate..."

"Bruce," Kate answered with intense seriousness. "Let's go inside."

Reluctantly, the millionaire stepped aside. Kate entered, examining the cobwebs on the ceiling and the dust on the floor, judging him in silence. "The last trace placed him in New York in 2023, before disappearing. But we were wrong in one thing, he was not alone."

"The Superman clone and Roy Harper disappeared before, and to this day, Starfire swears he knows nothing about the whereabouts of her friends. Does your clue place her there with Jason?"

"Bruce, listen carefully." Kate stepped forward and put both hands on his shoulders, squeezing lightly. "There was one thing we didn't see and that we didn't know until now."

"I know, otherwise Jason wouldn't be missing," responded Bruce impatiently. "Stop wasting time and tell me-"

"He had a child."

Bruce blinked once, feeling his teeth clenching. "That's impossible, I would have known."

"Really?" Kate raised an eyebrow. "We're talking about Jason, if there's one thing both of you've always had in common is talent to hide things."

Kate waited for her cousin to digest the information slowly. When Bruce spoke again, his voice was full of skepticism. "Where did you get the information from? I'll corroborate it."

"Do you want to shut the fuck up and listen?" Kate cursed loudly, rubbing her red hair. "Two days ago Maggie called me about a drug case, a couple of idiots with 230 kilos of marijuana in their house, nothing great. Maggie just called me because they had this." Kate pulled out of her pocket a very old little batarang.

Bruce took it and held it close to his face. It was one of his first batarangs, when they still did not have trackers implanted. A simple old blade.

He had given it to Jason almost twenty years ago. It was his first tool, small, practical.

Bruce turned around to check the other side. There was a small inscription. Because of the stains of dirt and the light rust color, Bruce calculated that the words must have been recorded at least ten years ago.

The strength is in seeing the difficulty in the face and saying 'Fuck off'.

"It's Jason's handwriting," Bruce murmured blankly.

"Their foster daughter had this. I did her a routine tests three hours ago, I didn't expect to find anything, but there was a coincidence with Jason's blood," said Kate quietly but firmly. "There's no doubt that she's his."

Bruce ignored the swirl of emotions, thoughts, ideas, and spoke calmly. "Where's the girl?"

"In the car."

"You brought her with you?"

"She has no- Bruce, she's alone now, her foster parents will go to jail without hesitation. I know your days of taking care or orphans ended, but this is your last chance to fix your disaster and find Jason," his cousin pressed her lips. "The theory that he's hidden on purpose is totally ruled out."

"He would never abandon a child," said Bruce, avoiding closing his fist. Once again, memories of that night flooded his mind. Batman hitting Red Hood with fury, until his son could no longer get up. No doubt Jason would have been a better father than him. Quickly, Bruce walked around his cousin and out the front door, into the garden where an unusually sunny day warmed his skin.

Bruce knew it, how he knew that Damian would never harm an animal or that Tim would never betray a friend. Jason would never leave behind a hypothetical child. A voice in his head growled at him furious at his own blindness, all the time he had lost considering the possibility that Jason was hiding somewhere. Getting away as much as possible from him to punish him.

That option was now impossible.

Kate's car was parked by the window, but before getting too close a blonde woman opened the door and got out the passenger seat. He stopped before moving forward. He did not expect Kate to have come accompanied by Kara Danvers, of all people. The blonde gave him an uncomfortable smile. "Hi, Mr Wayne."

"Where is she?"

"Wait, calm down, Carrie had a pretty bad weekend and maybe it'd be better to calm down before talking to her."

"I know, how is this all your business?"

"Kate's my best friend," Superwoman replied with a frown. "If she needs anything, I'll be there."

"I'm aware, stand aside and let me see the girl."

Kara examined him briefly before moving aside. With quick steps, Bruce opened the back door of Kate's car.

A red-haired girl stared at him, startled, with Jason's eyes.

She had short hair, freckles splashing her face and a pair of glasses on the bridge of her nose. Bruce felt like he had been transported decades ago, when he had seen those eyes for the first time in a orphan child who had tried to steal the wheels of his car. A voice inside his head growled at him to pay attention. That could be a trap, even if he did not know from whom.

"...Are you Bruce Wayne?" said the girl with a slight frown.

Jason.

The words stuck in his throat, without leaving even if Bruce wanted to pronounce them. The girl looked at him with the same curiosity, except that there was a hint of nervousness in her eyes. "Um, I'm Carrie, Carrie Kelley."

Bruce shook his head slightly and smiled slightly. "It's a pleasure, Carrie."

* * *

 

**Carrie**

**2030**

The interior of the mansion was huge, but unfortunately, it seemed that Mr Wayne did not have a cleaning service, because almost all surfaces had a fine layer of dust. Carrie followed Mr Wayne and Kate, the woman who had pulled her out of that awful police station, into the kitchen, the only place in the house that seemed remotely clean. Carrie was accustomed to disorder in her many foster homes, but she had expected more from a millionaire.

Kate and her blonde friend, Kara, sat at the kitchen table and Carrie did the same, looking around for possible escape routes in case these people were kidnappers after all.

The man, Bruce, offered her a glass of milk. "My apologizes, my butler is on vacation in Europe," he said quietly.

Carrie shrugged, touching the glass but without drinking.

"Do you know why you're here, Carrie?" Bruce asked in a calm voice. He was a very tall and strong man, with big hands. He almost looked like a giant.

"Kate says you can find my dad," replied the redhead. Carrie looked him up and down. The man did not seem dangerous or evil. Carrie was not afraid, but she wondered what would happen to her from now on.

"When was the last time you saw your dad?"

Carrie shifted restlessly in her chair, thinking about the interrogations of the movies. "He went out to buy something at the store, when I was four. But he didn't come back."

The man nodded slightly, putting his hand in his pocket and pulling out a wallet. Carrie wondered if he was going to give her money when he pulled out a small photo of two young men, a teenager and a boy. The four were brunet, and looked at the camera with different expressions on their faces.

Carrie stared at the second man, abruptly taking the photo as if it were made of gold. "This is my dad! You know him? Do you know where's he?"

"I've been looking for him for years, he... lived here with me as a child," the man said.

Carrie swallowed, looking around again as if she expected to find some sign of her father's presence that would corroborate that the stranger was telling the truth. Kate and Kara nodded in her direction, and Carrie stared back at him.

"Carrie, I know this may be new for you, but if you help me, and you tell me what you know, you'll be helping me to find him wherever he is. Do you think you can tell me what you remember before he disappeared? "

"Are you going to find my dad?"

"Yes."

"You're a cop?"

"I'm a detective," replied Bruce. "And I won't stop until I find him."

Carrie gritted her teeth and nodded, still searching for a lie on the man's face. "Promise me you won't stop looking for him."

He leaned forward, looking at her with the same intensity. "I promise."

It was Kate who reached out to take her hand. "Tell us what you remember, please, any small thing can be useful."

Carrie moved her hands uncomfortably. "We lived in New York..."

* * *

 

**Jason**

**2019**

**Three years before the disappearance**

Jason felt a sharp pain in his neck, like every morning before he woke up. It was not anywhere near the worst pain he had ever felt in his life, but it was annoying like the sting of a wasp. His ears were sharpened in search of some cry, but he heard nothing. Finally opening his eyes, Jason found himself alone in his bed, the other side warm. Shaking off the sleep like an old sheet, He got out of bed and opened the curtains of his room, receiving the sun on his face. He had always thought Florida was a good place for some vacations.

Jason left his bedroom and walked to the kitchen, making mental plans for the things he had to do next. Bizarro was feeding Carrie with a bottle, holding the baby in one of his huge hands. Jason smiled and yawned.

"Hey, Biz."

"Morning, Red Him. Me taking care of Little Red Her. You can sleep a little longer."

"Nah, I ain't sleepy, but thanks anyway, big guy." Jason approached the clone and gently took the baby from his hand. "Have you seen Ar?"

"Red Her am out."

"She told you where she went?"

"Nop."

"Ok, she'll be back," said Jason shrugging, thinking about the discussion they had had the day before. Surely it would be better to give Artemis some space.

Jason walked to the couch with the baby in his arms. Carrie began to shake uneasily, as if she was about to start crying. Jason pulled his old batarang out of his pocket and put it in her hands. It was her favorite toy and it never failed to avoid a tantrum. Carrie took it and put the tip to her mouth.

"Red Him," Bizarro said. "Where now?"

"I was thinking we could go to Disneyland. A lot of fun means no bats; the perfect place."

"... Red Him still angry?"

Jason looked up at the clone. Bizarro looked calm, if a little worried. Undoubtedly he had listened to the discussion he had had yesterday with Artemis and was trying to test the waters.

"I'm not mad at them, buddy, but I want their toxic asses as far away from me as possible. I still can't turn my neck." Jason stood up and started rocking Carrie. "I'm done with all of them."

"Bizarro understands, but me believes that moving around the country am bad for Little Red Her."

"I know, Biz, I know," Jason replied. "We won't be like this forever, trust me. Just a little longer." Jason looked his friend in the eye, so he could see the seriousness in his eyes. "And then we'll go."


	2. Beneath the surface

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jason's song: Narcissistic Cannibal (Korn)

**Jason**

**2019**

**Three years before the disappearance**

The fact that he had chosen Florida because of the weather had not been a joke. While walking through the park with the hood on, Jason took his time to breathe the pure, clean air, so different from the city where he was born. The sun filled him with life, a kinder and more compassionate resurrection than the one he had experienced in the Lazarus Pit. Jason was determined to make this a good day. He found a small fountain in the middle of the park, where some little ducks played and bathed. There was a small bench by the fountain, where an old woman with long hair fed the doves. Deciding to take a break from his walk, Jason sat next to her. The woman nodded in his direction in a silent greeting.

Sighing, Jason pulled out of his pocket the cellphone he had been using for two days and would have to change at midnight. He wondered when he would be able to have a normal cell and fill it with photos, applications and songs like a normal person. But Barbara could hack even his blender, so he could not afford that luxury for a while. One of the positive consequences of the short time when Bizarro had been a genius was the technology he had built, which made his devices irrastreatable for almost everyone. But Jason was too smart to believe there was anything that could stop the people he did not want to see again.

He wrote a quick text message for the red-haired Amazon. _'U there? We need 2 talk.'_

Jason waited for Artemis to send an answer, even if it was to tell him to leave her alone. However, no matter how many minutes passed, she did not respond. Remembering that he promissed to do everything possible to make this a good day, Jason held back his desire to step on the cell and stared at the ducks. Their mother pushed the two smaller ones with its heads, submerging them in the water, teaching them to swim.

"She knows they can do it," the old woman murmured at his side, smiling slightly.

Jason nodded. "That beasts are better parents than most humans."

Rising from the bench, he decided to call Roy while he was on his way back to the safehouse. The communicator rang for a few seconds, before Jason heard the sound of a breath on the other side.

"At last. What kind of millennial are you, taking so long to pick up the phone? If I die again it'll be because you didn't respond in time," said Jason jokingly. As Roy did not respond, he arched an eyebrow. "C'mon, it was just a joke, you always answer in time."

_"Jason."_

Jason stopped in the middle of the lawn, squeezing the communicator furiously in his hand. "What the hell are you doing with Roy's phone, Grayson?"

" _I didn't know it was you, I- We had a plan to catch- We were expecting a call and-..."_

"Where's Roy?"

_"With Lian, he's- Jason, wait, don't hang up."_

His hand trembled on the communicator, with barely contained fury.

 _"Where are you?"_ Grayson asked. _"Please, it's been a year. Talk to me, I just want to know if you're okay."_

"Why? I'm just a killer for you, you made it very clear."

_"We didn't know about your dad. I didn't know it when I said that. I shouldn't have said that, Little Wing. I'm sorry-"_

"Shut the fuck up. You fucking let him broke my neck," Jason barked at the phone. "That damn asshole almost broke my spine and you let him. You were out there just watching idly, doing nothing. I told you not to talk to me again. I don't want anything to do with you or your father. I left it fucking clear."

_"Tim is worried."_

"Don't you dare to use- You know what? People are never going to tell you this, Dick, but your ass is huge, abnormally massive, and it gets bigger every year. Some day your ass gonna explode and you'll become a head with legs. See you never, Asswing."

Jason hung up and broke the phone in half, throwing it away as if it were a bomb. His day had just become irremediably bad.

* * *

**Batman**

**2030**

**Seven years after the disappearance**

One of the consequences of being on Oracle's blacklist, the worst blacklist in the world, was that Bruce had had to manage on his own in everything related to hack for years. No one could ever be like Barbara, but Bruce knew how to do the job. Two hours after finishing talking with Carrie, and having done at least fifteen different blood tests to her, Bruce went back down to his cave to add the new information to the one he already had.

Jason's disappearance had its own research room, a little to the left of the main computer. On the walls and ceiling, Bruce had pasted the few photographs and documents that Jason had left behind from 2018 to his last trace, in January of 2023. Five years in which he had not seen him, but somehow he was out there, somewhere. And then nothing.

There was a map of the world in the center of the room, where small red dots marked the places and dates on which Jason had left a trail, even if it was minimal. Oslo, 2019. Jerusalem, a year later. México in 2021. And the trace ended in New York, in 2023. The difficult thing, almost impossible to find out, was whether he had been alone or not at that times. At what point the rest of the Outlaws had dissappeared had always been the biggest loose end.

 _"Carrie, do you know who your mother is?"_ Bruce had asked her a few hours ago.

 _"No, Dad never told me about her. I don't know her,"_ she answered shaking her head. _"We were just him and me."_

Bruce used his phone to show her a photo of Starfire. _"Do you know her? Do you think you've ever seen her?"_

Carrie clenched her teeth before shaking her head. _"Um, she's Starfire, from the Titans."_

Bruce showed her a picture of Harper. _"Do you know him?"_

_"No."_

_"You can take your time."_

_"I don't know him."_

Bruce nodded and showed her a photo of the red-haired Amazon, watching closely her reaction. The girl froze in front of him, a quick expression of fear crossing her face. The change did not go unnoticed either for his cousin or for his forced Kryptonian guest. _"No. I don't know her."_

 _"Mjm,"_ Bruce agreed, deciding to ask her again later, when she was not so nervous. _"What do you say about him?"_ he asked, showing her the Superman clone.

Her face lit up. _"That's Pup-Pup!"_

_"Then you do remember him?"_

_"Yes, he and Dad were always together, he lived with us. But then he left."_

_"Do you know where he went?"_

Carrie shook her head. _"No."_

Returning to the present, Bruce took a photograph of the Superman clone and pasted it under a small sign below the map, and wrote 2022 next to it. He deduced that if the girl remembered Bizarro, it was because he had been with them enough time to leave a memory in her mind. With what she had said, it was more likely that Harper had been the first to disappear.

Bruce heard Kate's footsteps approaching from behind, probably watching the walls carefully. "How reliable are the memories of a four-year-old?"

"Do you remember that nanny we had when we were kids?" asked Bruce. "The one that made us clean the soap."

"She had a huge berruga on her face and smelled like wet socks."

"I remember a scar, and that she smelled of ink. I remember the smell of ink because my father collected inks of different colors." Bruce turned around to look at his cousin. "No, little kids rarely remember things exactly as it happened. It's not what Carrie remembers, but what she doesn't remember." He pointed to a picture of Roy Harper. "She didn't know who Harper was, but got scared when she saw Artemis. What does that tell you?"

"That she does remember something else."

He nodded. "But I do believe that she said the truth about Jason going to the store the last time she saw him. People don't forget the last time they see their parents."

Kate was silent for a few seconds. "What are you going to do?"

Bruce arched an eyebrow. "Investigate."

"What about Carrie?"

For the first time in the day Bruce felt that kick in the stomach, which never failed to remind him of all his mistakes. Before opening his mouth, his cousin interrupted him.

"I got a few days off, you know, accumulated vacations. I'll make a some calls and stay here with you."

"It's not necessary."

"Don't be a fool, you can't do this alone. You've to re-examine Jason's trace, the girl trusts me, and your house is falling apart."

"I haven't had time to clean, that doesn't mean anything. And she should be with you if she trusts you."

"You don't really believe that."

"It will be best for everyone."

"No, you're not going to do that. You're not going to feel sorry for yourself," said Kate, sinking her index finger into her cousin's bicep. "You can't keep isolating yourself from the world, Bruce. You don't need punishment, but fix things up. You fucked monumentally up with your children in the past but you still have time to fix things with them."

"Do you know Cassandra is working for the president?" replied Bruce in a serious voice.

Kate stared at him. "Of course I know."

"And that Mar'i turns five next week?" He shrugged. "And Tim asked his girlfriend to marry him a month ago. Damian is about to graduate from college. Surgeon, like my father. Ra's and Talia raised him to be a murderer and he goes and studies medicine. The three of them have lunch together every saturday. They're happy, they're fine. Because I'm not there." Bruce felt as if he were thirsty. "I'm not good for any child."

"You've never been perfect, but you're not a monster, Bruce," said Kate without her face shaking. "So get your head out of your ass and fix it."

Bruce took a deep breath, without wishing to argue with his cousin at the moment. "As you wish," he said. "Stay if that's what you want."

"It's not like I'm asking for your permission, dumbass."

### \-----🦇------

When he returned to his living room, Bruce was surprised to see that the manor no longer had a single molecule of dust. The reason was floating near the ceiling, removing the cobwebs with a feather duster and a smiling redhead on her back. Bruce suppressed his desire of sighing. Of course, Danvers had not know the girl for more than two days and had already told her she had superpowers. Why the whole world did not know it already, it was a question that defied logic itself.

Superwoman started circling in the air, and Carrie's laughter echoed off the walls. Bruce cleared his throat, and the alien stopped to look at him. "Um, hi Mr Wayne. I hope it doesn't bother you, but Carrie is allergic to dust, so I cleaned up a little."

"Kate, look at me!" exclaimed Carrie happily. "I'm flying! This is so dope!"

Kate frowned. "Kara, this is exactly what I asked you not to do."

"Sorry," the blonde replied, returning to the floor and releasing Carrie. Bruce understood then why Kate had asked her to come, the child liked her.

Carrie looked at him curiously, as if she was studying him. "Um, have you come to any conclusion? Do you have any ideas?"

"I have some ideas, yes. I would like to revisit the apartment in New York where you saw Jason for the last time. It's 11 am," said Bruce, looking at the clock on his wrist. "If we hurry, we can get there in my private jet in a few hours. Do you think you have energy for the trip?"

Carrie nodded. "Don't worry about me, just look for my dad, okay? He promised me he'd never leave me, so he's out there and needs help."

Bruce studied her quickly, putting his hands in his pockets. Although the blood tests, she did not look like Jason, except for the intelligent, insightful eyes. Bruce kept his own suspicions about who her mother might be.

The alien took a couple of steps towards him. "Can I offer my help, even if I know you don't need it?"

"Thank you, Miss Danvers, but I have to decline."

"I expected that answer," replied Superwoman with a playful smile. "Kate, I'll call you tomorrow. As for you, don't forget we have to go to the park next week." Kara leaned over and gave Carrie a small hug. "Mr Wayne, if you change your mind, just say 'chocolate' out loud. I'll listen wherever you are."

Bruce arched an eyebrow.

"Okay, fine, if you don't like chocolate just say 'ice cream'."

Kara walked to the exit and closed the door behind her. His paranoid side took a few seconds to consider the fact that she knew too much, and that he would have to pay special attention to her for a while. Once she was gone, Bruce looked at the child again. "I'll go for a coat for you, we'll leave as soon as possible."

* * *

**Jason**

**2019**

**Three years before the disappearance**

Part of Jason knew that he would find Artemis on the beach, since his girlfriend adored the sea and everything that had to do with the ocean. Jason thought that growing up in the desert, it was totally logical that Artemis find tranquility by observing the movement of water. She even took baths when she was especially frustrated. However, lying on the sand with her crimson hair in a braid, she looked completely dry, so Jason deduced that she had not gotten into the water to swim.

"You can get close," said Artemis on the deserted beach. At that hour of the afternoon and with the sky of a deep orange color, most of the people had already left, except for a couple of surfers. "I'm not going to bite you."

Jason accepted the offer of peace and sat next to her, without lowering his guard. He decided he did not want to create an uncomfortable silence. "I'm sorry about our fight."

Artemis gave no sign of having listened to him for a couple of seconds, before shaking off the sand and raising her torso to sit down. "Also I."

Jason began to move his fingers on his knees. "You know you can tell me anything, d'you? I know... things got out of control. You didn't plan this, and I'm so-"

"You're too good, Jason, and you tend to believe that everything bad that happens around you is your fault." Artemis smiled on his side, shrugging her shoulders. "It's wasn't your fault, little one, as it wasn't your fault what the bat did to you. It's me who must apologize, Jason."

"C'mon, it was just an argument, we were stressed out." Jason took her slightly rough hands, squeezing them fondly. "Let's forget about that and talk about nice things. You still haven't told me where you want to go."

Artemis rolled her eyes, but accepted the change of subject. "Anywhere is fine."

"Naaah."

"I'm serious, Jason, wherever."

"Boo, killjoy!"

Artemis leaned closer and rested her cheek on his shoulder. Jason thought she looked like a tigress taking a nap. "How about Norway?"

"Norway?" asked Jason incredulously. "Really? Fucking Norway?"

"Language."

"Carrie's not here. Norway?"

"What's wrong with Norway? I was there once while searching for the Bow, it's beautiful."

"It's cold and boring."

"I grew up in the desert, any place with snow looks like a paradise."

"Mjm. Still boring."

"Now you're a father, bored is your new normal."

Jason put both hands on his face, feigning a lament. "Roy made it look funny..."

"Arsenal gave her daughter a toast for her birthday."

"It wasn't a toast, it was a picture of toast. It had something to do with the secret to true happiness... At least I think it was that, Lian loved it anyway."

"I don't doubt his intentions were the best. Let's go to Norway."

Jason smiled. "You gonna have to convince me, precious."

"It has the largest, most complete, museums in the world."

"I'll go for my coat."

* * *

**The Detective.**

**2030**

**Seven years after the disappearance**

Bruce had always felt strange at the times when he could not act as Batman or Mr Wayne, those times when he had to go unnoticed and be a street beggar, a garbage collector in the night, or just a fake voice on the phone. Although he would never admit it, he enjoyed those parts of his work. When he was little his mother was fascinated by theater plays. Once Alfred helped him memorize Hamlet's monologue, so he could recite it on her birthday. Bruce remembered that in the middle of the monologue, in the private party, a seven-years-old Kate threw a tomato at him.

Once in New York and with the need to go unnoticed, Bruce chose to wear glasses and a fake mustache, with a little makeup to make him look older. Reluctantly, Kate had agreed to wear a blonde wig. Their taxi stopped a block away from the building, and Bruce took Carrie's hand as they began to move toward his objetive.

A little wind was blowing and Kate pushed a strand of fake hair out of her face. "Now there's other person living in the apartment. A piano teacher, we'll have to make him come out."

"Good," replied Bruce, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. With blond hair, she looked disturbingly like his mother.

Carrie tugged at his hand, drawing his attention. "What are you going to do?"

"In any investigation, It's important to go the places where the things happened. You have to go there as many times as necessary."

"Do I have to enter?" she asked nervously.

"Are you afraid?"

Instead of answering, she asked him another question. "What happens if I don't remember anything?"

"Nothing, you were very little when it happened. It's perfectly normal that you've forgotten the details. Memories are not linear," said Bruce entering the building. "They don't work like a movie, but like a rain. It doesn't matter if you can't tell me anything important, only that what you tell me is true."

"I never lie."

"Good, then we'll be honest with each other, alright?"

"Okay, you look like Ben Affleck in that old movie he made with Jennifer Lopez. You just need the Italian accent and curse a lot."

"Not so honest, kid."

Entering the lobby, Bruce faked a charming smile and announced himself as the British cousin of one of the tenants, speaking with a perfect accent. The man nodded and let them pass without suspicion. As they climbed into the elevator, Bruce pulled his frequency analyzer out of his pocket to calculate how many radio signals, telephones and computers were nearby. With each passing year there was more, Bruce feared that one day someone would have the bright idea of replacing people with robots. When the doors opened, the three of them walked down the corridor and stopped behind a corner, watching the door of apartment number 105.

Bruce gave the device to his cousin. "They always trust more if it's a woman's voice."

Kate rolled her eyes and used the device to look for the apartment's telephone signal. Bruce touched Carrie's shoulder and put his forefinger on his lips, to make her understand that she should remain silent.

"Good evening, with Mr John Bravo?" asked Kate, faking a professional voice. "This is a call from the police station number 99 of Brooklyn, this is Detective Rosa Diaz. We need you to come to the police station as soon as possible, Mr Bravo. Some teenagers stole your identity and used your bank account to buy illegal substances on the deep web. It was this morning, sir, no, we still don't have them, but we need you to give a statement before the FBI suspects you, as soon as possible. We'll be waiting for you. Detective Rosa Diaz." Kate hung up the communication.

Less than five minutes later, a young blonde man with dark glasses came out of the apartment, closing the door behind him and running down the hall, passing a few inches of the corner but not seeing them and disappearing down the stairs. When Bruce made sure he would not be back for at least half an hour, he heard a faint noise. Carrie had her hand in her mouth trying not to laugh. "I didn't know being a detective was so fun."

"No fun, just justice."

"Don't listen to him," said Kate, smiling sideways. "You can do both."

Bruce moved to the door of the apartment and opened it with one of his little master keys, in less than two seconds. He had been in the place three times in the last twelve years. The first time had been a month after the last time Jason had been seen. The camera at the entrance of the building filmed him coming out, his only disguise a red hood. According to Bruce's obsessive research, Jason had lived in that apartment for four months, during which time he had used different costumes and make-up to prevent any smart camera from recognizing his face. In 2023 that was the only way Oracle could not find him. But the last time, he did not use any disguise.

He no longer cared if they recognized him or not.

Or maybe he wanted to be found.

The apartment was small, almost unchanged since the last time he had been there two years ago, looking for inspiration about how to relive the cold case. Perhaps the only difference was the piano by the window. The tiny kitchen was on his left, and the bedroom on his right. Bruce turned on the lights so he could notice even the smallest detail. In silence, his eyes studied Carrie, her facial expressions and body language. She was afraid.

Suddenly she turned around and walked to the bedroom, opening the door and going inside. Carrie stood in the middle of the room and looked at the walls and the bed. "We slept here. When I couldn't sleep, he'd sing a song about a cannibal."

Kate frowned. "A cannibal?"

Carrie hummed the melody, unable to remember the lyrics exactly. Bruce recognized, with a shudder, the song that Jason used to sing loudly when he was a child and found Dick's old guitar. ( ** _*'You're so-cynical. Narcissistic-cannibal'*_** ). Carrie hurried out of the bedroom, her eyes examining every corner, her head spinning like an owl's. Bruce noticed that her eyes always stopped for a longer fraction of time at the window, and on the floor below it.

Kate also noticed it. "Is something wrong with the living room?"

"Um, I'm not sure," replied Carrie blushing, looking at Bruce guiltily.

Bruce put his hand on her shoulder. "Rain, no movie."

Carrie clenched her teeth. "I think the floor was darker. A thief came in through the window once," said Carrie, turning her head towards the closet on her left. "I was inside the closet, because I liked playing there, and I saw him come in. The thief was wearing a black mask, my dad saw him and got furious. He pulled out his gun and told him to leave. The thief was yelling at him."

"Remember what he said?"

Carrie denied. "No, they both shouted a lot."

Bruce remained a couple seconds in silence. "Do you remeber if the thief was shorter than Jason?"

"No, I think he was taller."

"I understand," he gritted his teeth for a second. "And what happened next?"

"Dad hit him, and then pushed him out the window. I think the floor was darker because I remember a blood stain, but it was barely noticeable."

Bruce walked on the wooden floor, noticing the dust spots and the different marks made over the years. His ears paid attention to the sound of his footsteps. Or rather, to the absence of it. If it were as old as it looked, the wood would creak.

While he was studying the floor, his cousin went into the closet to examine it from the inside. Bruce heard the sound of her hands stirring the things. "I can't escape the irony that I'm in a closet."

"Focus, Kate."

"Come here."

Bruce went to the closet and came in too, next to Kate. She was kneeling on the floor, and pulled his arm for him to do the same. Bruce knelt beside her and closed the door. From that angle, the slits on the door were large enough to see the window on the other side.

Kate exhaled loudly. "You're four years old and a stranger dressed in black comes in through your window. The only logical thing is to think 'he's a thief'."

"But even the dumbest thief makes sure no one is home first." Bruce stood up. "There were no stores in this neighborhood."

"What do you mean?"

"Jason told her he was going to the store, but by 2023 there were no stores nearby, and he left without disguise." Bruce stood up, sighing in the darkness. "He knew he wasn't coming back."

* * *

**Jason**

**2019**

**Three years before the disappearance**

The safehouse had all the lights on when Jason and Artemis arrived after a long walk, her arm around his shoulders and his hand resting on her waist. Bizarro was on the couch, with Carrie on his right knee, and she bounced placidly with a smile on her lips. His friend looked at him and a smile of relief appeared on his face as he noticed that they were holding hands. "Am Reds good again?"

"Don't worry, Bizarro, we're fine," the redhead replied with a half smile. For the first time in the day, her eyes fell on the baby. "I should feed her."

Jason hastened to stop her. "I'll do it."

 "You did it this morning," she said, still smiling. "It's my turn."

Taking two steps forward, Ar leaned over and took Carrie in her arms.

"After all, how is she supposed to be strong enough to lift a sword if she doesn't eat properly? Proteins are important." Carrie began to move uneasily in her arms, as if she were about to cry. "You see? I told you, she's hungry."

Jason's eyes followed her into the kitchen, thinking that, despite Grayson, the day was progressing without major incidents. Even the idea of spending time in Norway seemed good at that time. He could teach Carrie how to make a snowman, although first he should learn how to make a snowman. It could not be that difficult.

"Red Him okay?"

Jason smiled at his friend. "Never better, buddy."

* * *

**The Detective**

**2030**

**Seven years after the disappearance**

The window in the hotel room overlooked the center of New York, where Bruce was momentarily blinded by how disturbingly bright the city was at night. No matter how many times he had been in New York on business, the city always marveled him, both because of its resemblance to Gotham and because of its differences. Like Gotham, the city seemed to have its own soul, Bruce thought as he left his suitcase on the marble floor. Unlike Gotham, the savagery of the city seemed shamelessly cheerful, chaotically synchronized.

"Hey," said his cousin, tapping on the surface of his open door. "Do you want a pizza?"

"I'm not hungry. I think better with an empty stomach."

"Whatever, but Carrie has to eat... Arg, hell, I'm starting to sound like Nana Esther."

"Maybe it's the menopause."

"You just made a joke?"

"It was sarcasm, I don't make jokes."

"Better for you, because I would've had to kick your ass."

Bruce heard the footsteps of his boots move away, toward the kitchen.

"Thank you," he said suddenly in a neutral voice, not knowing if the soldier would listen. "For everything."

He knew that Kate had heard him when her steps stopped. "Do you remember what your mother said when someone had a bad day?"

"You deserve all the good days."

"You do it," said Kate. "Forgive yourself and be better, Bruce. I'll always be here if you need me, because you're my family and although you're unbearable and sometimes you screw up, I love you. When you find Jason, make sure the person who finds him is his father, not not the man who hurt him."

Kate's footsteps disappeared down the hall, becoming less audible until she reached the kitchen. Bruce rubbed his head and sat on the bed, wanting nothing more than to be in his cave to put his thoughts in order and work in peace, in an environment where ideas came alone. Sighing, he pulled out his black communicator and called Gordon, rubbing his throat.

 _"What's on?"_ asked Jim from the other side.

"The Salamancas, Pier 39. A whole ship of cocaine."

_"Won't you be there?"_

"No."

_"Do I have to worry about a building exploding or some alien king trying to conquer the Earth?"_

"Not today."

_"Great, that leaves me very calm."_

"Good night, Gordon."

Bruce cut off the communication and watched the black device in his hand for a full minute. Deciding to press the button, he put it back on his ear. The device rang a couple of times before a robotic voice answered from the other side. _"Are you dying?"_

"No, Oracle. I'm fine, in fact."

_"Then you can't call me. I asked you not to talk to me again."_

"It's important."

_"You can get help somewhere else for whatever this is, Batman."_

"Bar-" Bruce heard the sound of the communication cutting off. "...I'm sorry."

Bruce left the communicator in his pocket, his mind resisting the temptation to call Tim. He missed Tim's innate intelligence, his ability to see things from many different angles until he found an answer. Dick would have stimulated his own intellect by putting himself in the place of everyone involved, empathy had always been his strong point. Damian would probably have returned to the scene, stubborn as he was in being no less than his brothers.

"Mr Wayne?" a female voice asked from the door. "Are you okay?"

He looked up to find Carrie at the door. She still wore the same clothes; Bruce made a mental note to buy her a pair of shirts. "I was just thinking, nothing more."

"Oh." Carrie entered his bedroom without asking permission, sitting next to him on the bed. "Um, my best friend Michelle says that when we think of sad things we should also think of happy things, you know, to balance."

"I assure you, I don't think about sad things."

"No lies, you promised."

"I don't lie."

"Okay." Carrie rubbed her red hair. "Um, can I ask you a question?"

"It's a free country."

"My foster parents, will they go to prison?" asked Carrie, looking away. "I know what Kate thinks of them, but they aren't bad. They are quiet, in fact, although they complain a lot about capitalism and don't eat mayonnaise. They never hurt me, and they let me do whatever I want. I was lucky."

Bruce blinked a couple of times. "If they let you do whatever you want, it's because they hardly noticed you're there."

"Yeah, but-"

"You're staying with me or Kate," interrupted Bruce. "When we find your father, I know he wouldn't approve of you living with yonkis. Or worse, millenials." Although, Bruce thought, Jason probably would not like his daughter getting close to him neither, just like Dick.

"It's okay," said Carrie. "Um, thanks."

"Now go to dinner." Bruce stood up and patted her shoulder lightly, taking his suitcase. "I have to go out, I won't be long."

"Good luck."

Bruce smiled slightly. "See you later."

* * *

**Batman**

**2030**

**30 minutes later**

Hidden in the cornice by the window, the Batman could see the silhouette of the piano teacher watching television, motionless in his kitchen. He waited patiently for the man to turn off the tv and retreat to his bedroom, closing the door behind him. Batman calculated that there were at least four ways to re-enter the apartment, move the piano off the wooden floor, and remove it to take a look underneath. But none of them guaranteed that the man would not listen to the inevitable noise he would make, and he did not want any civilian to get involved in his affairs. If Oracle still spoke to him, she would have managed to get the man out of his appartment. But he was on his own, and he had little time.

So for that time he decided to make an exception to his rule of not involving supers in his investigations. "Ice cream."

Ten seconds later, a smiling Kara Zor-El was flying a meter in front of him. "Hey, I'm glad you called me. I was convinced you wouldn't, what can I do for you?"

"Answer a question."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Yes, I _do_ bleed. Once a month, like all women."

Bruce regretted calling her. "That was _not_ the question."

"... Oh."

"Can you go in and see what's under the wooden floor, in the most absolute silence? A sigh and the man in the bedroom could hear you."

"Piece of cake, Mr B!"

Superwoman opened the window silently and flew inside. Batman suppressed that furious voice that shouted that the girl was going to ruin everything, and decided to listen to the other voice, which rushed him to do everything, as quickly as possible, to find Jason. That voice did not shout, but his stoic anxiety was louder than any scream. Following the Kryptonian, he entered through the window and made sure his ears paid attention to all the sounds around him. His footsteps made no sound when he approached the piano, where Kara floated in the air with her eyes on the wooden floor. Kara looked at him then, and the Dark Knight knew she had found something.

In the most absolute silence, she descended and leaned under the piano, crawling like a child looking for a toy. A small beam of red light illuminated the living room for a second, and he knew that Kara had used her heat vision to make a small hole in the wood. He heard an almost imperceptible click, the sound of two stones rubbing. Kara got out immediately, waving her hand and flying out of the window again. Batman did not take long to do the same, closing it after passing.

Kara handed him a small piece of ebony wood. In the dark, it did not seem special, but the analyzer on his helmet revealed a small spot of blood in the middle, just as Carrie had said.

"There's a another black floor underneath," replied Kara with a serious expression. "It's fragile, It was easy to tear off that piece. Someone took a lot of trouble to make the other floor not to draw attention."

"A lot of trouble for a small stain."

Superwoman pursed her lips. "I don't think it was because of the stain, someone wrote with indelible paint on the old floor."

"What does it say?" asked the detective, keeping the piece of wood in a compartment on his belt.

"B, find me," replied Kara. "Nothing more, just 'B, find me'."


	3. Two visits and red spots

**Dick**

**2030**

**Seven years after the disappearance**

It was always very important to prepare the dough yourself if you are going to cook a pizza. Dick had learned that at the age of twelve, helping Alfred in the kitchen, since the old butler had always insisted that all single man should know how to cook. Dick was trying to teach Mar'i to make sauce, but his daughter was much more interested in her PlayStation 20.

"Mar'i, drop that and set the table. Mom will come soon," said Dick, turning on the oven.

Mar'i paused her videogame and walked to the kitchen, opening the drawer next to her father to take the tablecloth. "When will Uncle Damian come?"

"He'll be here on your birthday, Starshine," replied Dick, cutting the cheese.

"He'll bring many gifts?"

"Mm, I don't know, you'll have to ask him."

"Can I have a puppy?"

"You already have Silkie."

"Silkie is a worm, I can't play with him."

"How about we ask Mom when she gets home?"

Mar'i shrugged and turned to look for the glasses. As they were on the top shelf, she floated to reach them and took it all to the dining room. Dick finished the pizza and put it in the oven, wiping his hands on his apron and stretching while holding back a yawn.

**_*Ding Dong*_ **

"Dad, the door!" shouted Mar'i from the dining room.

Dick took off his apron and walked to the front door, moving the curtain of the window to see who was on the other side. It was then when he saw the last person he expected to see standing at his door. "Shit," he said, clenching his fist without realizing it, wishing that Star had taken Mar'i when she decided to pay a visit to Gar. His hand sought for a weapon instinctively, before realizing that he was not wearing his belt. Of course, it was not going to be that kind of fight.

But Bruce being at the door of his house after years without talking to him could only be a bad sign.

"Mar'i, I'm going to water the plants!"

Dick opened the door quickly, going out and closing it behind him at full speed.

There was an uncomfortable silence in which both did nothing but look at each other for a second. Bruce did not look old, maybe he had some more gray hair but he looked as strong as always. He was paler than he remembered.

Dick felt the urge to hit him in the head with a stick.

Bruce opened his mouth to speak. "Dick-"

"You can't be here."

"I know, but if I had called you, you wouldn't have picked up."

"Because I don't want to talk to you. What the heck are you doing at my door, Bruce? My daughter is inside."

"I know you don't want me here, Dick, but we have to talk. It's important."

"I can't help you."

"It's about Jason."

Dick was tempted to punch the wall. "You still on that after so long?"

"Dick-"

"You haven't talked to Damian, have you? Don't you dare to go with Damian and screw up all the progress he has made. It took him years to recover, Bruce. Years. You have no idea how bad it's been for him since Tim and I took him out of the manor to find him help. How could you know, if you didn't visit him in the hospital not even once? Damian is finally fine and it's not thanks to you so get lose. And if you cared for Jason even a little bit you'd respect his desire to get away from us. Hey, are you listening to me? Bruce, I'm talking to you!"

"You lied to me, Richard," said Bruce with deadly serious eyes. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a piece of black wood. "You found Jason seven years ago, didn't you? You found him in New York, living under the alias of Jay Kelley. You came in through his window and you both started fighting. This is your blood on his floor." Bruce held the piece of wood in front of his face. "You can hate me for being a bad father, blame me for what happened to Damian, and you'd be right. But you have to tell me the truth, not for me, but for Jason. Where's he, Dick?"

Dick bit his lip so hard he felt the taste of blood. "I don't know."

"Dick."

"I _don't_ know. And if I knew, I wouldn't tell you. He wanted his own life, Bruce, without any of us and you must respect his wishes. Just like you should respect my wishes to not to see you again."

"He's in trouble."

"What?"

"I have new leads, Dick," he said in a quiet voice. Dick hated that voice, it made him feel like it did not matter how much he talked to him, he would always be ignored. "I have reasons to believe that Jason didn't disappear because he wanted to, I think someone was chasing him." Bruce tentatively took a step forward. "Dick, you have to tell me what happened seven years ago. Jason is in trouble, do you understand? And we have to find him," he said softly, his blue eyes wide open. "Tell me what happened, Dick."

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

**Jason**

**2020**

**Two years before the disappearance**

**Norway**

The carrot did not stick to the snowman's face. As much as Jason sunk it in the fucking snow, it did not stay still and ended up falling on the cold ground of the park. The snow had been soft since last week. Jason did not even have the excuse of a sunny day to deny his deplorable skill with the snow.

"Well, I guess that's it."

Carrie, or what was visible of Carrie under at least three coats, jumped up and pointed at the snowman. "Montan!"

"Mountain? How can you be so cruel to Dr Freeze 2.0? Don't you see he has feelings?" Jason was ignored because the toddler found a purple leaf on the ground. "Carrie, no, don't eat that."

Jason took her hand and lifted her into his arms, carrying her over his shoulders.

"Let's go find Uncle Roy, his ass must be freezing."

* * *

  **Roy**

The cold became intense the moment Roy left the plane, forcing him to rub his arms until he could open his luggage to find a coat. He cursed his stupidity for thinking that summer would make the temperature bearable in that godforsaken white hell. After finishing all the paperwork demanded by the country, Roy sat down to wait for the idiot of his best friend to appear to save him from the cold. Jason appeared twenty minutes later, the archer thinking him an hallucination caused by the hypothermia, with a coat in one hand and a little redhead in the other. Roy ran to him and took the coat off his hand.

"Heat," said Roy as he put it on. "Heat heat heat heat I want heat."

"I told you it's cold here."

"This is not cold, Jaybird, this is the fucking end of the world. Who in his fucking mind would come to live here?"

"Language." Roy saw Jason snort with a grimace. "You'll change your mind when you're in jail. They're better than Gotham's best hotels."

"Have you been in jail?"

"Apparently training sharks is illegal in Norway."

"You tried to train sharks?"

"I had to help Bizarro with his job."

"Bizarro has a job!?"

"Lower your voice, dude." Jason looked around. "The last thing you want is to get attention at the airport. Trust me, they take terrorism very seriously."

"I don't look like a terrorist."

"Don't be racist, anyone can be a terrorist."

"Can we stop saying 'terrorist' at the airport?" Roy's eyes fell on the infant, who was watching him with curious eyes. "Aw, look at us after so many years, together and with a baby." He rubbed her hair. "She even has my charm," he said joking. 

"Don't rub her hair, combing it is a mess."

"Just let her mom do it."

"How is Lian?"

"She's very excited to start school, as the responsible young lady she's," Roy said smiling. "I should bring her next time, so Coraline has someone to play with."

"Caroline, Dumbass."

"That's the Jason Todd I know and love!"

\-----🦇------

Arriving at the parking lot, Roy had managed to regain his body temperature. He followed Jason through the endless line of cars parked by the snow until he found his. He did not expect Jason's car to be a shiny black Toyota that looked twice as expensive as his apartment in Star City. "Dude, how did you pay for this? Black Mask's money?"

"It's a surprise. You'll have to wait, but it'll be worth it. First I gotta take Carrie with Bizarro," said Jason opening the back door and putting the toddler in a baby chair. Carrie whimpered annoyed when Jason released her, but the brunet took a Supergirl doll that was next to the seat and gave it to her. Carrie calmed down immediately.

Roy smiled as he climbed into the passenger seat. "I told you."

Jason also got into the car and started the engine. "You say a lot of things, what do you mean?"

"That you'd be a good dad."

Jason snorted and rolled his eyes.

"It was serious, Jaybird. Remember two years ago? When you knocked on my door totally in panic because you thought you were going to screw it like your parents? Look at you now. I haven't been in the country for an hour and already want to have a baby with you."

"No more babies for now, Roy."

He laughed. "What I want to say is that I'm proud of you, Jaybird." Roy began to notice that the landscape changed, as they moved away from the center of the city. "And that this giant orange with legs is lucky to have you."

Roy saw his friend smile slightly, in a sincere way but a little... off. He wondered if he was imagining things or Jason seemed worried about something. Ten minutes later, Jason stopped on a street that looked like it was taken from a Christmas postcard, next to a large shop with a striking sign of a smiling puppy. They both got out of the car, Jason taking the infant in his arms.

The first thing Roy thought upon entering was that there were hundreds of eyes staring at him. The place was big, with dozens and dozens of animal cages on the walls. Cats, dogs, rabbits, birds, and those were just the ones he saw at first sight. The dogs barked at them for a few seconds as they entered, but quickly stopped when the tall, muscular attendant silenced them in a quiet voice. Roy needed to look twice to recognize the clone.

"Bizarro?" asked Roy like an idiot. The clone wore glasses, and his skin was no longer gray. "How?"

"Just makeup, Orange Him. Bizarro am happy to see you!" he exclaimed happily. "Orange Him flight was okay?"

"Yeah, pretty good. Well, the food was disgusting but at least that means Jaybird can take me out on a date."

"I'm not having a baby with you, idiot."

"Argh, I wish I was gay." Roy looked back at the animals. "Are they all yours, Buddy?"

"Bizarro takes care of animals," the clone said smiling. "Until animals find their own family. Red Him bought place with Skull Face money."

Roy laughed. "I wish I was there when you kicked Black Mask's ass."

"The fucker kicked his ass for himself," said Jason, leaving Carrie on the floor to let her approach the puppies, without taking his eyes off her. "I swear Carrie has more common sense than half of those clowns. Biz, try not to let her get close to big animals, I still have to pay the fine for what happened with the boa."

"Alright, Red Him."

"Stew tonight?"

"Sure."

"See ya later, buddy," said Jason smiling.

Roy gave the clone a friendly pat on the shoulder before turning around and following his best friend out of the store. Before leaving, Roy saw how the clone was leaning to lift the toddler in his arms.

During the car trip, the red haired archer remained in an unusual silence, watching through the window the buildings and trees of Oslo. From time to time, his gaze fell on the reflection of his best friend, also silently lost in his thoughts. Roy wanted to believe that he was not thinking about anything abnormally bad, but he knew Jason better than that. He was going to open his mouth to say something when Jason stopped the car again.

"You see that nightclub that's there?" he asked with a big smirk.

Roy saw that in front of the car, at the end of the street, there was a nightclub named Catherine's. The colored lights were off at that time of the afternoon, but it seemed like the kind of place where Oliver used to pretend to be a brainless playboy years ago. "Are we going to catch some bad guy in that club?"

"I hope not, because it's mine."

"What? Holy shit!" Roy exclaimed cheerfully. "Jason Peter Todd a respectable business man?! Dude, it's amazing!"

"Hey, chill out. I bought it with the money I stole from Black Mask. I named it after my mom, I think she'd have liked it."

"Anybody with eyes would like it! Why the hell are we still here? Move your ass and show me your nightclub, Frank Tagliano!"

Jason laughed and they both got out of the car, moving happily toward the nightclub. The brunette pulled a pair of keys from his pocket and with a dramatic gesture opened the door. The floors were black and bright, reflecting the dim lighting of the place. The tables were next to the walls, windows and platforms, leaving space in the middle for a dance floor. The best thing was the counter, where retro lights illuminated the place with different colors.

"Jaybird..." said Roy sobbing. "I want to have sex with this place."

"Don't even think about it, I could never get the stain out." Jason went to the other side of the bar and prepared his friend a glass of brown liquid. "Drink it."

Roy sniffed it before drinking it in one gulp. "Ugh, it's strong, but sweet. Ahhh, what the hell is this?"

"Apple juice, dum dum. What else would it be?"

"I hate you." Jason refilled his glass and Roy drank again. "It's the worst apple juice I've seen in my life."

His friend sat in front of him and poured his own glass. "It's totally mine, like the rest of this place," he said smiling again. "Bizarro takes care of Carrie when I'm here. I brought her once, to show her the place. Half of the pretty girls stopped dancing to play with her. This is the weirdest place on Earth, Roy."

"And Artemis?"

Jason shrugged. "She doesn't like to be idle, she works a lot."

"The Amazons work?"

"Donna is a photographer."

"Donna is Donna, what does Artemis do?"

"She likes to use her muscles, I think she's building an hospital now."

Roy raised an eyebrow. "You two are okay?"

Jason frowned. "Of course, we love each other. And more than that, we understand each other. We don't fight almost never and we're still a team. It's just that sometimes things get weird."

"What kind of weird?"

"I'm not a fool, Roy, neither of us planned exactly..." at his inability to find a word, Jason moved his arms in circles. "All this." He took another drink. "We changed when we had Carrie."

"Remember Jade, my Lian's mom?"

"She stabbed me once, lovely woman," said Jason sarcastically.

"After having Lian, she also got weird for a while. Mood swings, fury, sadness. It happens to some women, even the most badass. Did you talk to her about it?"

"I tried, but she said I was imagining things." He rubbed his forehead. "Maybe she's right and I'm paranoid, maybe I just don't know how to have a normal life."

"That's bullshit. You're doing awesome, dude, much better than anyone I know. It's not your fault that women are complicated. Man, I told you we should have been gay and happy. Give her time, you said yourself that everything happened too fast. Whatever it is, you're Jason fucking Todd and you're going to fix it, because there's no problem that it's life or death for you. Did you see what I did? 'Life or death', hahaha."

Jason smacked him on the shoulder. "Only I can joke with my death, Harper. Now let's go, I'll take you to my house so you can bathe at once. You smell like airplane food."

### \-----🦇------

Jason drove for twenty more minutes to the outskirts of the city, near a snowy forest in an almost absolute white landscape. The trees were dark wood, like coal, and glossy like waxed marble. Looking up, Roy spotted a nice house made of that dark wood, with snow on the roof and orange lights coming out of the windows. Jason smiled at the sight of the house, and Roy was immensely happy to realize that he had seen his friend smile more times in a single day than he remembered in the past. Jason stopped in front of the cottage and got out of the car, and Roy took his suitcase and followed his best friend. "Do you have wifi, Santa Claus, or do you use reindeer antennas?"

"Antlers, smartass, reindeer have antlers, and of course I got wifi," said Jason, opening the wooden door with a key he took out of his pocket. "Artemis and Bizarro didn't like the apartment we had before, too much noise and little space. This cabin was cheap, so I bought it and Biz remodeled it. Nobody bothers us here."

"That's what all the fools in horror movies think," said Roy, leaving the suitcase on the floor. It was hotter inside the cabin, and the archer let out a sigh of relief while rubbing his hands. There was a fire lit in the fireplace, illuminating the room with different shades of orange. There were stairs to his right that led to the bedrooms.

Jason walked to the kitchen behind the living room, and Roy sat on the green couch by the fire.

"Wanna coffee or something?" asked Jason from the kitchen. "Norwegian coffee tastes like a donkey's kick."

"I pass, Jaybird. And hey, you can drink whatever you want in front of me. I won't relapse just seeing you drink a beer."

"Don't be silly, of fucking course I won't." Jason came back from the kitchen with a couple of teas, and he handed one to his friend. They both drank while Jason sat next to him, looking calmly at his friend. "Okay, spit it out."

Roy choked on his tea. "What?"

"What you want to tell me but you don't dare. I know you, you're fucking obvious, Roy." Jason arched an eyebrow. "Just spit it out."

"I don't think you want to hear it."

"Roy..."

"It's about them."

Jason pursed his lips. "They don't know where you are, right?"

"No, I don't think so. I did everything you told me. Fake name, searched for trackers, avoided cameras, new clothes. Unless they hire a magician they won't know where I am-..."

"Knowing Batman, he would."

"It's about Robin." Roy left the cup between his legs. "The boy is... well, nobody knows where he is, but he's not with Batman. Red Robin is untraceable and refuses to talk to anyone. And Dick left the Tower in the middle of the night last week and hasn't returned since. I think something happened to the brat."

"Something happened to Damian?"

"I don't know, dude, you know how it is. But I saw Wonder Woman two days ago and even she looks angry."

Jason took a deep breath. "I miss Diana."

"You could call her. You know she cares about you, regardless of the bat. But don't mention her new hair, it looks like she was struck by a lightning on her head, I dunno, maybe she changed her shampoo."

"Are you sure you're not gay?"

"You'd be the first to know, handsome." Roy winked at him. "Are you going to do something with Damian?"

He put his hands together. "There ain't much I can do on the other side of the world. I'm not going back, they didn't want me there when I came back and I don't want them near my family. And Damian... "Jason rubbed his hair. "He's a little asshole, but he's just a kid. I can't be really mad at him. Dick, Alfred, the girls, no one moved a finger to stop Bruce when he almost broke my neck. Tim believes blindly on Batman and his rules, he'd have helped him hit me if he had been there. But Damian only does what Bruce tells him." Jason stood up. "And I'm not part of his life anymore."

Roy looked for something to say to encourage him to investigate about the youngest Robin, but when he did not find anything, he decided to change the subject. "Where's the bathroom?"

"Outside in the garden."

"Why the hell is the bathroom in the garden?"

"Do I look like a Norwegian architect?"

Roy snorted dramatically and got up to walk to the kitchen, from where he used the back door to go out into the garden. It was large, and stretched to the forest almost completely white. Roy saw the bathroom door to his right, but stopped when he heard the dry sound of a **_*Pumh*_** blow against a wooden surface.

Feeling curious, the redhead turned around and walked to the other side, where the sound came from. **_*Pumh*_** Roy turned at corner of the wall, and found a tall, strong woman cutting wood with an ax. He needed a couple of seconds to recognize the redhead Amazon. She was wearing only a white shirt and jeans, but the cold did not seem to affect her. She stood still for a second, then turned slowly, her green eyes meeting his.

"Archer," said Artemis quietly, almost smiling. "I didn't know you were visiting."

"Didn't Jason tell you, Red Sonja?"

"I didn't expect you so soon."

Artemis stopped looking at him and raised the ax again to continue cutting wood. **_*Pumh* *Pumh* *Pumh*_** Her hair moved with every movement of her arms. Roy could not help thinking that her hair looked different. Less bright and more intense, as if it were made of blood. "How are you?"

 ** _*Pumh*_** "Excellent."

"That's a lot of wood."

 ** _*Pumh*_** "Winter is hard here, Archer, and no heater can replace the heat of fire."

"Right," said Roy rubbing his head. The echo of the ax cutting through the wood did not stop ringing in his ears, almost hypnotic. "Aren't you cold?"

She stopped cutting the wood to stare at him again. Holding the ax in one hand, she approached slowly, smiling softly. Roy did not know what to do, so he stood still with his eyes fixed on the ax. She put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed hard. "I'm not cold, but thank you for asking," her right hand moved the ax from left to right. "It's good to have you visiting, Roy Harper."

"Um, thanks, hehe. I mean, you're welcome, thanks. I gotta go to the bathroom."

Roy turned around as quickly as possible and went back the way he came, with a sensation of a different cold in his stomach. Before reaching the bathroom, he heard the sound of the ax again.

**_*Pumh*_ **

**_*Pumh*_ **

**_*Pumh*_ **

………………

Hours later in his bedroom, Roy yawned and put on his chacket, turning around to look for a coat in his suitcase. The archer was surprised that he was not getting cold inside Jason's house, but he supposed that Bizarro could have built a super heater in his days as Smartzarro. He would have to ask Jason later.

Finishing dressing, the archer opened the door of the guest bedroom and went down the stairs to the living room. A delicious smell permeated the air, something that reminded him of the homemade food that the Navajo tribe used to prepare when he was little. Bizarro was on the couch reading what looked like a newspaper, Roy was not sure because of the ridiculously complicated Norwegian language (what the hell was wrong with those people?). Jason was sitting at the table and had his child in his arms, trying to convince her to eat a carrot puree. But Carrie refused to let Jason bring the spoon near her face.

"If she doesn't want it, give it to me. I'm starving."

"You're going to wait, I ain't going to feed two babies."

"I can help you with dinner."

"Don't go near the kitchen, last time you 'helped me with dinner' you blew up the stew. I still have the scar."

"Hey, that's not fair, that was Kor'i."

"Wow, I didn't know that Kor'i used flammable arrows and happened to have one in her pocket. I thought she was more the 'I'll burn you with my bare hands' type. I must know another Kor'i," replied Jason sarcastically, not giving up on the carrot puree. "C'mon, kid, you shouldn't despise food. I didn't even have mint candies when I was a kid."

"Tell her you'll give her a chocolate later, it worked with Lian."

Jason tilted his face to look into the eyes of the little redhead. "You heard that, Carrgal? There's no dessert for you if you don't eat the damn carrots."

"Language, Jaybird," said Roy with a mocking smile.

"I know..." Jason shook his head finding for something to say. "Gadzooks."

"Really?"

"What are you, a dictionary? Do you have any better idea?"

"Yeah, just let her curse. I did that with Lian. As long as it's not racist or homophobic there's no problem."

In the kitchen, the oven bell rang sudden and fleetingly. Jason got up, taking the toddler in his arms and handed her to Roy. "Try it, I'll go see the Hungarian cake."

"Anything for your cake, honey," said Roy taking the toddler. Jason raised his middle finger as he walked toward the kitchen.

Roy took the plate of carrot puree and the spoon with the other hand. "You're lucky, Coraline, your old man's the best cook I've ever met. Sometimes I used to crash into his safehouses just to eat all his food. The son of a bitch became a veggie for a whole month so I'd stop doing it." The baby looked at him with big, bright eyes, with one finger in her mouth and her other hand pulling Roy's hair. He went to the sofa and sat next to the clone, who was still watching the newspaper with concentrated eyes. "Do you know how to speak Norwegian, Bizarro?"

"Me am not reading, me just looking at the pictures. Me like the landscapes." Bizarro smiled at him. "Little Red Her likes planes, Orange Him should try planes."

Roy nodded and took a spoonful of mashed carrots to try. "Speaking of which, where's Artemis?" Carrie ate willingly that time.

"Red Her out, hunting."

"Hunting where?"

"Me don't know."

"You got super hearing, don't you know where everyone's all the time?"

"Yeah, but Bizarro am not a meddler. Bizarro tries to ignore useless noises all the time. Right now, Bizarro am ignoring the squirrels in the forest, the underground worms, Red Her..." The clone frowned at half of the sentence, but then shook his head. "Red Her coming, almost here. A lot of blood. Oh, poor bunnies. Bizarro prepare a hot bath."

The clone got up from the couch to go to the bathroom, eager to be useful while Jason prepared dinner. Roy frowned and wondered what was the need to hunt animals when his friends did not seem to have any money problem, but he just shrugged. The Amazons, and more the Banas, were hunters after all. The Navajo had taught him that the blood thirst of certain predators could not be suppressed. It was in their natures.

When he had almost finished feeding Carrie, the front door opened and Artemis entered the house, closing it quickly so cold air would not come in.

"Hell," exclaimed Roy when he saw the woman's appearance. The Amazon had both her sweater and pants covered in blood, also most of her face. From her hands, the red liquid dripped towards the floor. "Were they explosive bunnies or were you in a Tarantino's movie?"

"They were Norwegian rabbits, more ferocious than wild cougars." She left a bow, a quiver and a small sword by the door. Artemis seemed to be in a good mood, a playful smile appearing on her lips when her eyes fell on Carrie. "I see you made her eat carrots. Consider it a great achievement, she hates them."

"Jason's carrot puree? Blasphemy."

"She has to eat everything, we don't mean to spoil her," she said, taking off her sweater and pants right there. Roy blushed and looked away. "As soon as she gets a little older I'll take her to hunt. You have to learn to survive in the forest as soon as possible. I understand that you also grew up surrounded by nature, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I was adopted by a Navajo tribe when I was seven."

"You know what I mean then. Everyone should be able to fend for themselves outside of civilization. Where to get food, how to clean the water, light a bonfire, avoid tigers and bears..." Artemis smiled and twisted her fingers like claws, looking at the toddler. "Raawr!"

Carrie got off Roy's lap, running at all the speed her little feet could afford toward the kitchen.

Artemis frowned. "Calm down, I'm not a real bear."

"Who was the dumbass that scared her?" asked Jason as he left the kitchen with Carrie in his arms, who was hugging his neck with her little arms, hiding her face. The brunet just raised his eyebrows when he saw his semi-naked girlfriend.

"You were the one who got furious the last time I stained the floor with blood. Now look, there's not a spot. And nobody scared her, we were just playing."

"Just take the blood off, will you?" replied Jason, turning around and going back to the kitchen, rubbing the back of the toddler. "Carrie'll help me in the kitchen and then I'll put her in the bed."

There followed a penetrating silence where Roy noticed that the Amazon frowned and pressed her lips, but without uttering a word. Artemis took off her shoes and went to the bathroom, leaving a slight trickle of blood in her wake. He wondered if he had just witnessed a fight, a bit of the source of his best friend's worries.

### \-----🦇------

After getting his stomach fuller than it had been in a long time, Roy enjoyed a quiet chat at the table with his friends after everyone finished picking up the dishes. Bizarro washed them with his super speed, and Roy insisted on drying them as a normal human. Jason had made dinner so he sat and watched the others, yawning quietly.

After telling Jason about how he was doing with the Titans, the archer retired to his bedroom to watch television for the rest of the night. Unfortunately for him, the only thing in English was an old documentary about Swamp Thing. Deciding to go to bed early, Roy picked up the untraceable cellphone that Jason had given him and dialed Lian's number.

' _Hi?'_ his daughter asked from the other side. ' _Dad?'_  

"Hey sweetheart."

" _Hi daddy! how are you doing? how was your day?"_

"I'm fantabokay, Li. It's cold as hell but everything is beautiful, though I don't get a word of what the television says." Roy yawned. "Did you know that Swamp Thing was a candidate for governor in 1993?"

* * *

**Jason**

Jason lay on his bed with his arms behind his head, looking at the ceiling with a blanket covering his legs. The pain in his head had only worsened, as if a drill was destroying the floor next to his bed. His mind tried futilely to concentrate on the normal things of his new normal life. He needed to buy more vodka for his nightclub, get a new dj, take Carrie to get vaccinated, buy more eggs. On an ordinary day Jason would still feel amazed and astonished at the normal life he had managed to achieve, how easy it had been to get away, leave behind the madness, the supervillains, and Gotham's human garbage. How free he felt without the drama of the people he had left behind. Norway was the most peaceful country in the world, as if out of a fairy tale. The people were friendly, the streets were clean, the jails were truly focused on reforming their criminals, there were no children starving and almost everyone could access to health care. The sole existence of the country was the biggest 'fuck you' to the American way. The rate of violent crimes was ridiculously small. He did not feel guilty for not going out every night to be a vigilante when Oslo did not need one. It was much more than he ever thought he deserved. It was what he wanted for Carrie, a normal and happy life with a family that loved her and the least possible suffering. He wanted to give her everything he had never had.

But that night Jason could not think of anything but Gotham.

"... And I can't help but thinking..." Artemis said lying next to him, using his arm as a pillow. "Maybe my mistake is that from the start I thought that she would be like me."

Specifically, Jason could not think of anything but Damian, the most disturbed child he had ever known. The one who had never had a real chance to actually be a child. Jason had at least been able to enjoy a couple of good years with Bruce's love and approval. He had had good times, where he had been happy. And then he had lost them forever. But Damian had never had a real chance. Not only had he been created and brought up by psychopathic murderers to become one, where they had worked hard to eradicate any trace of empathy or compassion from him, but immediately after that he had put on a cape and a mask to be exposed almost every night to rapists, murderers, madmen and monsters. There was no way Damian was not fucked up. Jason knew that Dick had been there for him from the beginning, as he had never been for him. But he wondered if Dick understood how disturbed that child was, if maybe he was only waiting for time to magically erase his problems. The part of him that was a father and had developed since Carrie was born was quite furious.

He could have done more to try to help Damian.

"But clearly I was wrong," continued Artemis by his side. "She's like you, smart and kind, and very lucky to have you. There's something I am doing wrong, and I have to find a way to fix it before she grows up and learns to hate me. It shouldn't be so hard."

Should he try to find out more about what Roy had told him? Was Damian in trouble and that was why nobody had seen him recently? Was he hurt? Bruce would not be such an idiot as to let some homicidal clown kill another Robin. Jason hated the uncertainty of not knowing if the damn demon brat was hurt, dead or worse. It was no longer his business. It had never been his business. But he could not help but worry like a damned mother hen. Bah, whatever it is, the brat was a tough guy. The devil looks after his own... Maybe he could find some way to hack some security cameras in Gotham. Barbara did it all the time. No, of course not, Barbara would know immediately and tell Bruce (fuck it). But he could call Ma Gunn, get information about what was being said on the streets. The fleeting idea of calling Kate crossed his mind, the only black sheep now that he had left. But as friendly as his relationship with the Batfamily's weird aunt had been, she was still a bat. And he had promised himself and Carrie to expel all traces of the bats from his life. Forever, no matter what happened.

"Tell me about it, what did she do to get you to remember her so fondly?"

Jason pretended to be paying attention quickly. "You mean...?"

"Your mother, of course."

"Geez, actually she didn't do anything specific," said Jason stretching. "When things weren't so bad, we'd go to the movies in the afternoons. It was an old cinema that only got foreign films, but the manager was in love with her and let us in for free, sometimes even gave us popcorn. And at night she'd make up stories for me." Jason smiled slightly. "She never told me the same one twice. Once she invented one about a man who became a blue naked god, and little by little he forgot what it felt like to be a man, until there was nothing left of the person he had been before. She had a lot of imagination and was very creative. My mom loved to read, and she used to keep many old books in boxes under her bed, but those were just the good times before the bad ones," murmured Jason, losing his smile. 

His mom had needed help, go to a detox clinic to get the trash out of her veins. He tried to protect her, take care of her. But she died anyway, because with Willis in jail there was no one to control how much shit she got into her veins. "You're the strongest woman I know, it's... okay if you think you can do things better, it's what I feel many times, but a very wise man once said..."

"You mean Harper?"

"Yeah, he can be very smart, sometimes. Roy told me once that worrying means you care, that nobody's perfect and that it's okay if you make mistakes. We do the best we can, Ar, and we learn. I think that's what matters."

Her gaze fixed on the ceiling, light years away. At times like that, Jason wondered what was she thinking about. A small voice in his head wondered every day what was going through her mind.

"Jason, I think I need-"

The lights were suddenly off inside the room, causing the darkness to swallow the image of Artemis at his side. "Hell," said Jason as he picked up his cellphone to light around him. Artemis was no longer at his side. "Ar?"

_***CrAShHhh*** _

The noise made Jason point the light at the window, his muscles hardening instinctively to attack any possible intruder, but no one attacked him. Artemis was standing by the broken window, growling softly as she held her hand. Jason came over quickly to see better, and he could distinguish a small, feathered black bump on the floor. He moved it with his foot. It was a black bird, a crow that had passed through his window and died on impact. Its little black eye fixed on Jason, looking directly at him, so bright that it almost seemed like the animal was still alive. "Dammit."

"I thought I saw something outside the window, but it was just this damn beast." Artemis used her shirt to cover her hand, only then did Jason notice that her hand was bleeding. "I cut myself with the glass."

"Let me see it."

At that moment, a terrified crying came from the next room, calling Jason desperately.

"Go, I can take care of this scratch myself. The Goddesses know I've had worse." Artemis left the room without looking at him, without the darkness being an obstacle, as if she had memorized every corner of the house. Jason pressed his lips together and followed the sound of the crying, hurrying into the next room. His baby writhed in her cradle, crying inconsolably in the middle of the darkness. Her bedroom was cold and most of her stuffed toys had fallen out the cradle. Jason had to light the floor so as not to trip over Supergirl, Thunder or Aquagirl.

"Hey, Carrlass, nothing's wrong, the light only went out." He leaned over to pull her out of her crib and rock her gently. "Nothing's wrong, Carrie. Don't cry, I'm here."

"Aoman."

"What?"

"Aoman," she replied pointing to the door. "Moter."

"There's no monster," he replied caressing her hair. "There's none, because they're afraid of me. They know that if they come to bother us, I'd cut off their heads and bury them in the garden. The monsters are so afraid of me that they'd never dare to come near here."

"Moter."

"There's no monster, it's just darkness. And you don't have to fear it if I'm here to protect you."

A soft knock sounded at the door. Jason raised his phone, finding Bizarro, his pale skin and enormous size making him look like a ghost. His clone friend approached him. "Red Him, me can't find Orange Him."

"What?"

"Orange Him gone. Me can't see him, smell him, nor hear him anywhere," responded Bizarro with a bit of nervousness. "Me am trying to find him but Orange Him gone."

Jason hurried out of the bedroom, putting Carrie in Bizarro's arms and walking quickly to the guest room at the end of the hall. On the way he almost tripped over a pot with false flower and let out a 'fuck'. He opened the door of the room. The windows were closed, the bed was unmade, and Roy was nowhere to be found. Jason entered with hesitant steps, his ears sharpening to the maximum to hear any sound in that almost total darkness. He actually heard a distant murmur, a ghostly voice that seemed to come from beyond, similar to the voices he sometimes heard in the first months after he had resurrected. Feeling a cold sweat sticking his back to his shirt, Jason realized that the murmur came from a cellphone on the floor next to the bed. He picked it up and took it to his ear.

 _'Dad?'_ asked Lian from the other side. _'Dad, are you there? Dad?'_

Jason cut off the call, a very strange sensation growing in his chest. It had been a long time since he had felt fear for the last time.

* * *

* * *

* * *

**The father**

**2030**

**7 years after the disappearance**

The interior of Dick's house was as organized and clean as Bruce had thought it would be. Dick had always been the cleanest of his children. Alfred had never had to teach him to keep his room tidy or not to leave his clothes lying around. Still, Bruce had expected to find children's toys or colorful drawings somewhere. Instead, there was a huge and very modern game console, next to a photo of Dick with Starfire, Cyborg, Changeling, Raven and a little and smiling Mar'i. The hole in his stomach got bigger. He had two granddaughters, and he had never been part of none of their lives.

The half Tamaranean was sitting at the table, playing with a black cellphone that seemed too big for her small hands. The girl looked up and Bruce took a good look at her eyes, almost completly green as her mother's. Mar'i looked at her father, frowning. "Who is this, dad?"

"A former co-worker who was passing by and stopped to say hello," replied Dick.

"Oh," she said with a shrug. "Hey, whassup?"

"Hello, Mar'i," replied Bruce smiling, without taking his eyes off her. She was painfully similar to Dick when he was a child, mostly because of her smile. "My name is Bruce."

"Like Bruce Willis?"

"Not really."

"Like Bruce Lee?"

"Like Bruce Wayne."

"What movie was he in?"

"None," interrupted Dick softly.

She shrugged innocently. "It's just that he looks a little like Michael Keaton."

"Mar, please go upstairs until mom gets home. Bruce and I've to talk in private."

"Why? I know how to keep secrets, I never told mom that you broke the toaster and not Uncle Gar."

"Because our conversations aren't suitable for all ages."

"You mean sex?"

In other circumstances, Bruce would have felt slightly amused when he saw his first son's face lose all color. "I mean violence," answered Dick in a serious voice. "Go play in your room, Starshine. I'll call you when lunch is ready."

Mar'i frowned and, to Bruce's surprise, though he should have expected it, she flew up to the living room and up the stairs. "I'm not a baby," she said before closing her door loudly.

Bruce found himself smiling slightly, wishing he could return someday to talk to Mar'i and get to know her better. But his slight grimace of non-unhappiness disappeared when he met Dick's hard eyes again.

"Let's get this over with," he said sitting down at the table, being imitated by the older man. "Just to be clear, the only reason I'm going to give you what you want is because you think someone might have been chasing Jason. Why do you think that?"

Bruce thought about Carrie and wanted to tell him the truth, but his instinct told him not to do it yet. Not when Dick was so furious. "I went back to the last apartment he lived in. I noticed something that I hadn't seen before, the floor was remodeled. Under the old one I found your blood and a message on the wood, 'B, find me.' Jason wrote that, Dick. He was in trouble."

Dick pressed his lips thoughtfully, as he always did in a particularly difficult case. After a few seconds he nodded. "I found Jason by accident in 2023, it's true. I was following someone else, a suspect in many cases of robbery and child exploitation. She met Jason in Central Park, and I was totally taken aback when I saw him there with her."

"Who?"

"Faye Gunn, the woman he lived with for a while when he was a kid. I followed Jason into that apartment and went in through the window to talk to him." Dick sighed. "I was angry, okay? I asked him if he had turned his back on us to work with garbage like Gunn, if he had fallen so low as to associate with the woman who exploded so many children, including him. He got furious and punched me. Then he told me that Faye had changed, that she was trying to make up for her mistakes. We fought a little more and he pushed me out of the window. He said I had no right to get into his bussiness and that if he ever saw me again, he'd cut my ass off and auction it online."

"Does anyone else know you found him?"

"Star," said Dick. "I told her when she came back to Earth and her friends were gone. We even went to look for him in New York, but he wasn't there anymore. I didn't expect him to be, but Star still had hope and I couldn't say no."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"What good would that have done?" Dick shook his head. "We had already lost him, Bruce. We lost him years ago, even before you beat him up for shooting the damn Penguin. I couldn't do that, not when I could only think that if he had killed the bastard, Cobblepot wouldn't have made Damian suffer as much as he did."

Bruce wanted to open his mouth to defend his moral code once more, but he knew that if he did that, Dick would kick him out of his house.

"Jason left because he was the first to realize that we weren't a family, just a club of broken people hurting each other. It wasn't easy to let him go, but it made me realize what I really wanted. My own family."

The older man did not say anything for a couple seconds. "Was Jason alone?"

"You still believe that his friends went with him." Dick crossed his arms. "I don't believe it, there's no evidence."

"Roy Harper was a father, he wouldn't have left Lian."

"I know, he was also my friend. But neither Tim nor I believe that Jason could possibly be involved, and Tim was always way smarter than you."

"Tim can be wrong. What about the Amazon and the Superman clone?"

"I don't think they're missing."

"What do you mean?"

"Bizarro Superman unfortunately had a very short life expectancy. His life could only be extended for a limited time. His cells were always unstable. I'm very sorry for him, but by now he must have passed away years ago."

Bruce pressed his lips together, thinking of the possible ways in which the clone might have cheated death. It would not be the strangest thing he had ever seen in his life and Dick should know better. "And the Amazon? Do you also have a logical explanation of why no one can find her?"

"All the Amazons always go back home," said Dick. "Not even Donna spends too much time in the outside world without returning to Themyscira from time to time, and Artemis..." Dick put his fingers under his chin. "She was a complicated woman, you should talk to someone who knew her better if you want to find her."

Bruce wanted to respond that he had done it, that he had investigated that woman's past for years looking for someone she could have trusted, someone who could give him information to find Jason. But of course, Dick already knew. He just wanted to get rid of him. "I'm going to find him, Dick."

"Do whatever you want, but try to keep in mind that he may not want to be found. And even if you do, nothing will change."

"I won't know until I find him." The older man stood up, smoothing his clothes, and turned back to the front door. Dick followed him with his eyes, as if he wanted to make sure he did not get lost on the way to the exit. "Maybe I'll have to talk to you again, I'd appreciate it if you didn't ignore my calls."

"I already told you everything I had to tell you."

It was not a resounding and complete 'no'; Bruce decided not to insist and try to finish this first reunion with Dick without a fight. "I may have things to tell you." Before opening the door to leave, Bruce reached into his coat and pulled out a small stuffed toy of a brown puppy, leaving it quickly on the table next to him. "This is for Mar'i, in case today's children still play with real toys." Bruce opened the door quickly and got out, before Dick could tell him he did not want his gift. He had parked his Toyota on the opposite street, and it was not long before he got inside and started the engine. As he drived slowly down the street, he noticed that Dick was standing in the doorway of his house, watching him motionless as he passed by his side. Bruce did not dare to return his gaze, but in his mind he did not lose hope that his look did not reflect absolute contempt. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'd really appreciate a beta who give me a hand with grammatical errors. I hate to write like a caveman.


End file.
